Protecting Critical Information (An Intro to OPSEC) 2 0f 2

By Tim Gamble

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For Part 1, click here. 

Reclaiming our privacy isn't about paranoia or becoming a social hermit - its about mindfulness and balance. 

The solution to loss of privacy is to decide what critical information you want to protect, and to make a conscious effort to protect it. As part of this, we need to be mindful of what information we are giving away without realizing it. Bad guys notice what you reveal, as do nosy neighbors, woke activists, government bureaucrats, and many others. It is up to you to decide how much is too much to reveal for you and your family.

Identify Critical Information - Answers the questions: What information do we need to protect? What information do we want to keep private? What information could be used against us in some way? 

Examples of potentially critical information include:

• Financial information
• Social security numbers
• Passwords and PINs
• Medical information
• Political and religious affiliations
• Membership in certain organizations (NRA, GOA, prepper or survivalist groups, etc.)
• Gun ownership
• Presence of valuable items in the home (guns, gold, silver, cash, tools, electronics, antiques, etc.)
• Purchases of large amounts of food and other supplies

It also may include information regarding certain plans, such as home security measures, personal security measures, when and where you plan to "bug out," etc. 

Exactly what all you consider to be critical information will depend on your own personal circumstances and concerns. It will vary from person to person.

The first and most important part of protecting your critical information is to make sure that everyone in your family/group understands what information to protect. Share this critical information on a "need to know basis" only. Even within your own family or group, not everyone needs to know everything. This doesn't mean that you don't trust your family or group members. Rather, the less people that know something, the less chance of it accidentally being revealed. 

If you have children in your family, you need to talk to them about not sharing certain information with non-family members. Teach them to respond to questions about the family's finances, religion, politics, firearms in the home, parents' jab status or opinions on vaccines, by responding "I don't know," and "You'll have to ask Mommy or Daddy about that." This includes not answering these questions from teachers and other authority figures. "I don't know," and "You'll have to ask Mommy or Daddy" are perfectly valid answers for a child to give their teacher. Young children will need to be reminded of this often. Also, be careful about what information you share with and around your children, as they do have ears, and they do repeat things.

Social media is also problematic. Even if you are "hidden" behind an anonymous screen name, you are never truly hidden on the Internet. Anyone determined enough and resourceful enough will be able to figure out who you are and where you are. This doesn't mean you should avoid social media entirely, but it does mean you should always be mindful of what information you're making public, even with the safety of being "anonymous." 

Although much is made of hackers, identity thieves, and Big Tech's obsessive desire acquire all your data, the biggest threat to your critical information remains yourself and those around you. This is where you need to focus your efforts at protecting critical information.

This topic broaches on Operational Security (OPSEC), a truly vast topic. OPSEC is a five-step process:

1. Identify Critical Information 
2. Identify Potential Threats
3. Identify Vulnerabilities
4. Assess the Risks
5. Apply Countermeasures

I will cover OPSEC in much more detail in future articles.

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